Megan Meyer Becomes Quickest Female in NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster at Lucas Oil Nationals

BRAINERD, MN (August 25, 2016) – NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster standout Megan Meyer added another impressive event performance to her rookie season scorecard last weekend when she qualified number one and reached the semifinals at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. She also became the quickest female in NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competition with a blistering 5.178 elapsed time during eliminations.

Meyer’s Racers Evolved A/Fuel dragster started off qualifying with a 5.539, then stepped up to the number two position with a 5.281 at 275.83 mph on Friday’s second run. With her father, Randy, making the tuning calls, Megan fired off a 5.195 at 276.41 mph to qualify number one for the second time in national event competition.

“Going into Brainerd, we had high hopes that the car would run quick due to the colder weather conditions and the fact that we have a great race car and crew with us. When we made the first qualifying pass, we were all a little bit disappointed because it was very slow and just felt really off going down the track. We made a few tuning adjustments going into the second session, and we were all hoping for a better turnout. When it flew down the track and ran the 5.19, we were all so excited to have ran that quick and reset my career best E.T.! Although we were thrilled to be the number one qualifier, that was not where we wanted to end up because of how the ladder was set up – we were aiming for the number two position,” revealed Meyer, who would have faced national points leader Joey Severance in the second round if she qualified in the second position.

Another 5.19 or even low 5.2-second run would’ve been more than enough to secure the first-round win, but the Randy Meyer Racing team isn’t one to settle for “good enough”. Meyer uncorked a 5.178 at 278 mph for an opening round win over the blown alcohol dragster of Dean Dubbin. The run gave Meyer the title of quickest female in Top Alcohol Dragster, the NHRA’s quickest and fastest Sportsman category. She followed it up with a 5.179 at a faster 279.85 on a bye run into the semifinals.

“When we pulled up to the starting line for the first round of eliminations, I was confident that we would run quick enough to get the win, even though we backed it down some on the tune-up. I was focused on getting the starting line advantage over Dean, and making it from A to B with no problems. I knew the car was flying when it screamed past the lights and I never saw Dean. I did not expect it to pick up and run a 5.17, but I'm ecstatic about it and couldn't be happier for my dad and our team. Our entire operation has proven to be incredibly successful this year, and I think having me in the driver’s seat and my dad making the tune-up adjustments works out perfectly for us. This is a huge accomplishment for our team and our sponsors, and it has always been one of my goals ever since I was a little girl to have a national record,” Meyer said.

Meyer was aiming for a decisive victory over past world champion Duane Shields in the semifinals, but her Racers Evolved dragster went into violent tire shake while Shields went on to record a 5.25 to move on.

“We're still unsure what caused it to shake,” Meyer admitted. “It shook hard early on in the run, and when I lifted off the throttle to calm it down, I didn't pedal it to try and chase down Duane. I was a little shaken up about it, but I was more upset about losing the race because we were doing so well.”

Overall, Meyer was pleased with her Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals debut. She recorded low elapsed time and top speed of the event, added 53 points to her second-place total in the national championship standings, and was able to spend time with local sponsor John Haley #1 Roofer LLC.

“We had a lot of great friends and fans visit us this weekend, and we had a lot of people from John Haley #1 Roofer LLC visit the track this weekend and cheer us on. We're grateful for our friendship and partnership with John Haley and hope everyone had a great time at the Lucas Oil Nationals.”

The next race for Megan Meyer and the Racers Evolved/Meyer Truck Center A/Fuel dragster is this weekend’s NHRA Lucas Oil Series North Central Region race at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

ABOUT MEGAN MEYER
No stranger to a life in the fast lane, Megan Meyer grew up around the sport of drag racing. In 2004, at just 10 years of age, she was given the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a Junior Dragster, alongside her younger sister, and took over the driving duties with no hesitations. Megan stepped up to the Super Comp class in 2010 after a successful career in the Junior Drag Racing League, earning two track championships. She is now making the transition to Top Alcohol Dragster with her father and veteran driver Randy Meyer as her mentor and driving coach. Follow Megan on Facebook (www.facebook.com/meganmeyer.racing), Twitter (www.twitter.com/meyersisters), and Instagram (www.instagram.com/meganmeyer.racing).

ABOUT RANDY MEYER RACING
A highly respected member of the NHRA Drag Racing family, Randy Meyer has had a successful career spanning over 35 years of drag racing as driver, team owner, and crew chief from AHRA Pro-Comp to IHRA Top Fuel and NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster. Focusing on the things that brought the team to existence has been the reason that Randy Meyer Racing has been so successful. In 2002 he handed the driving duties over to Gary Ormsby Jr. to become the first Top Alcohol Dragster to run in the teens with a solid 5.135 ET. The following year, Meyer tuned Alan Bradshaw to become the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster World Champion. Randy has returned to the driver’s seat since then, and has earned multiple Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Division 5 and Central Region points championships. For more information on Randy Meyer Racing, please visit www.RandyMeyerRacing.com and like RMR on Facebook (www.facebook.com/randymeyerracing).

Megan Meyer and the Randy Meyer Racing team receive support from the following companies: Meyer Truck Center, Lucas Oil, NGK Spark Plugs, GUNK, John Haley #1 Roofer, Herbalife Nutrition, Team Racepak, Copeland Fabrications, Aeromotive, Goodyear, ARP Bolts, MAHLE/Clevite, Litton Financial, Trinity Performance Wear, and Grinds Coffee Pouches.